Welcome to PROVENCE TODAY, a blog about life and politics in France.
In our search for the ideal place to retire, my husband and I settled in Aix-en-Provence in 1998 and have never stopped learning about this fascinating country that has become our permanent home. While this blog deals with the socio-political aspects of France, my book "Taking Root in Provence" focuses on the pleasures and paradoxes of daily life in sunny Provence.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

The month of August is usually a quiet one in France, with a
good part of the country as well as the government on holiday.In addition, a heat wave that brought us
unheard-of temperatures of 39°C in Aix-en-Provence and up to 41°C
elsewhere kept people indoors and produced the unusual sight of an empty Cours
Mirabeau at mid-day, where limp-looking overheated tourists sought relief on mist-cooled
terracesor by splashing their faces
with fountain water. Without air conditioning at home, I prefer to take refuge
in the cinemas in the old city center for an afternoon movie during the hottest
hours of the day. Easy enough when we have a choice of more than 30 films,
spread over three cinemas, every week. No long lines and perfect air conditioning
(not too cold), exactly what the doctor ordered.

As we all slowed down and went into energy-saving mode,
there was no break for the firemen who worked to the point of exhaustion in
battling the numerous blazes in the tinder-dry south of France and in Corsica,
often against a strong mistral wind or on difficult terrain. Many thousands of
acres were destroyed this summer, sometimes for good, reducing the pine-covered
hills to desolate moonscapes, and displacing people from campsites, holiday
homes and remote villages. Even the monks in the beautiful monastery of
Senanque in the Luberon had to be evacuated when a fire in nearby Gordes threatened
their ancient abbey.

Senanque Abbey

Some of these fires were caused by lightning but others were the result of negligence or of careless drivers who threw a lighted cigarette
from their car windows. [One mayor of a small town in the Alpilles region
pleaded with auto makers to reintroduce ashtrays in cars.] But according to Vincent Pastor, investigator
at the regional fire department for the Bouches-du-Rhône area, fully 25 percent of
all fires are set by man, usually with criminal intent. One such pyromaniac, a
19-year-old from Istres, was finally apprehended after witnesses had denounced him.
He has admitted to setting at least eight of the fires that have sprung up in
and around Istres this summer because he was "fascinated by flames." If
convicted, he risks up to 15 years in prison.

These wind-whipped fires in the Provence and Var areas of
France could not be fought without the help of the Canadair fire-fighting
planes that like giant pelicans scoop up the water that they dump on forest
fires and hard-to-reach blazes. On windy days they are sent into action at the first
alert and their distant rumble has become a familiar sound on hot summer days as
it blends with the song of cicadas.

JEANNE MOREAU DIES

Jeanne Moreau in Avignon, 2011

Legendary actress Jeanne Moreau died at her home in Paris on
July 31, aged 89.

Best known for her roles in such French classics as Jules
and Jim (François Truffaut) and Les Amants (Louis Malle), she worked with many
international directors as well, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Elia Kazan,
Luis Buñuel, Joseph Losey, Toni Richardson, Wim Wenders, and Orson Welles who
called her "the best actress in the world." She won a number of Best Actress awards and
was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and
Hollywood. She first appeared in Avignon at the opening of its theatre festival in 1947 directed by its founder Jean Vilar, and for the last time in 2011 when she recited Jean Genet's play Le Condamné à Mort accompanied by pop singer Etienne Daho, her face by then a magnificent ruin, her smoker's voice as strong as ever. "Living is taking risks" she was fond of saying.
Born to a French father and an English mother, she was perfectly
bilingual, yet to some of us she was the most French of French actresses,
sensuous, stylish, intelligent, and unpredictable. A star.

She is survived by a son from her first mariage to
Jean-Louis Richard. She had a brief second marriage with American director
William Friedkin.

MACRON: END OF THE HONEYMOON?

Other than fires and Donald Trump's latest excesses, the
French press has had little to report on this month, which may be one factor
contributing to the current wave of anti-Macron stories. Suddenly, the golden
boy of French politics who was the star of recent global summits and host to three
of the world's most controversial leaders in Paris (Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump
and Benyamin Netanyahu), has tumbled from an approval rating of 64% in June to
36% in August at the end of his first 100 days in office. What happened?Various explanations are offered, varying
from "too authoritarian, too far to the right, not what he promised"
to "undemocratic" (he plans to pass a new labor law by decree), "a
banker" (read: untrustworthy), and "surrounded by inexperienced
people." I would venture to add an observation of my own: The French are
never happy. It is in their DNA to complain, and the post-election euphoria was
bound to be short-lived. A swing of the pendulum was to be expected and was
definitely helped along by talking heads and columnists whose job it is to
create controversy and keep the ink flowing.

Code de Travail, 3000 pages

Nevertheless, a sense of disappointment is in the air, and what
sounded attractive to voters after the failed government of socialist president
Hollande, is beginning to feel threatening to the traditional French base now
that Macron has unveiled his plans and begun detailing some of his proposals. The
source of their worry is Macron's announcement that he wants to reign in French
deficit spending and bring the national debt down to 3 percent of GDP, as
required by the European Commission in Brussels.

To that end:

−he plans to change labor laws that hold
France back in the international market place (but guaranteed job security to
French employees);

−he introduced a law on Moralisation of
Political Life that prohibits French parliamentarians from employing family
members as paid assistants, a widespread custom that caused the downfall of
presidential candidate François Fillon (see Penelopegate). This
moralisation law, passed last month, would also eliminate the current trust-based
slush fund for deputies' expenses and switch to verifiable expense accounts for
reimbursement.

−civil servants (20% of the French
workforce) will not receive an automatic salary increase this year and, in an
effort to curb absenteeism (which costs the State €170 million a year) will no
longer be paid for the first day of sick leave.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon

−perhaps most controversial of all, Macron
cut the Defense budget by €850 million, causing General Pierre de Villiers, chief
of the armed forces, to resign.

Hence: discontent in parliament, in the civil service, and in
the military, not to mention the outcry on the political left which was to be
expected.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, firebrand leader of the radical-left movement
La France Insoumise (France Unbowed)
that won 17 seats in Parliament in the last elections, has vowed to block the
proposed new labor code and is calling for massive demonstrations in Paris on
September 23rd.

For its part, the CGT, France's largest labor union, has
called for a general strike on September 12th.

So after a somnolent August, September promises to be
agitated as the government reassembles in Paris and the all-important issue of
the labor code looms on the horizon. Mélenchon, with his "over-my-dead-body"
attitude, aims for maximum disruption and has threatened to seize the
Constitutional Council over the legality of a government decision by decree. It
is the first major test for Emmanuel Macron, and he will be watched closely.

Marseille, home of pastis

In the meantime, France is still in holiday mode and
blissfully unconcerned for a few more weeks about the political storm that is
brewing.

September can wait, with its back-to-school and back-to-work and back
to strikes and protests.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Simone Veil, French humanist, politician and feminist icon, died
in Paris on June 30th at age 89. She was a Holocaust survivor who lost half her
family in Nazi concentration camps, yet worked hard on the rapprochement with
post-war Germany as part of her strong belief in a unified Europe. She is best known for the abortion law she wrote when she was Minister of Health and
defended in an epic battle before a hostile Parliament. In three days of heated
debate and a volley of insults in an Assembly of only nine women and 481 men,
some of whom compared abortion to the Nazis' treatment of Jews and to embryos
being thrown into the crematorium ovens, an uncompromising Simone Veil succeeded
in pushing through her law (la Loi Veil)
that legalized abortion effective January 1975. Her courage and dignity
throughout this battle earned her widespread admiration, and opinion polls have
consistently shown her to be one of the most beloved people in France.

She continued to champion women's causes and drafted
legislation to expand the rights of women prison inmates. In 1979, she became
the first female President of the European Parliament, was named Minister of
Social Affairs a few years later, and in 1998 became a member of the
Constitutional Council of France, a position she held for nine years. In 2010
she was elected to the illustrious Académie
Française where she had her sword, which is part of the elaborate uniform
of the Immortals, engraved with the concentration camp number she still wore on
her arm.

If her professional life was marked with success and
recognition, her private life was darkened by personal tragedies. Born Simone
Jacob in a Jewish family in Nice in 1927, she was arrested by the Gestapo in
1944 and deported to Auschwitz together with her mother and older sister Milou,
while her father and brother were sent to another concentration camp. Only she
and her sister survived, but Milou was killed in a car accident six years
later. Her father and brother were last seen on a Lithuanian convoy of Jewish deportees
headed for Estonia, but no trace of them was ever found. As a student at the elite
Sciences-Po in Paris she met her husband, Antoine Veil. They had three sons,
one of whom died in 2002, and in 2013 Antoine died after 64 years of marriage. Two
sons and 12 grandchildren survive her.

In a nationally televised tribute France paid homage to her
in a funeral ceremony at the Invalides, attended by national and foreign dignitaries
as well as crowds of admirers. In a solemn address President Macron bestowed a
final honor on Simone Veil by announcing that she will be buried, together with
her husband (per request of the family), in the Paris Pantheon among the Greats of the nation. She is only
the fifth woman ever to be buried in this hallowed place whose portal bears the
inscription: To the great men of France,
a grateful nation.

AVIGNON FESTIVAL

Summer equals festivals in France, especially in the sunny South
with its many outdoor events. Villages, towns, coastal resorts, they all have
festivals of one kind or another where high and low culture each have their
place. Among the more important ones is the theatre festival in Avignon,
founded 70 years ago by French actor and director Jean Vilar.

Since its modest beginnings in 1947 when Vilar presented
three plays, this festival has grown into one of the biggest theatre events in
the world, breaking its own record every year to reach an astonishing 1480
plays this year, performed in 128 venues (119 legitimate theatres and nine
temporary accommodations in cloisters, courtyards, schools, etc.). These shows
span all ages, from Greek antiquity to today, and all genres: drama, dance, poetry, one-man/woman shows, comedy, musicals, puppet shows.
Increasingly, foreign plays are performed in their original language with
French subtitles.

Antigone at Palais des Papes

This year the festival opened with a presentation of Sophocles' Antigone, staged by Japanese director Satoshi Miyagi in the impressive Cour d'Honneur of the Popes' Palace that
seats 2000. This nec plus ultra of
Avignon settings is where the IN festival reigns, those 40-or-so plays that are
performed in the best venues in town and are supported by government
subsidies. Occasionally, the IN festival features big-name actors, such as Isabelle
Huppert, Juliette Binoche, Jeanne Moreau, to name just a few.

The OFF festival of more than one thousand smaller
productions must largely fend for itself but is often the place where new
talent is discovered and where creativity may be greatest. Youthful enthusiasm
is all around, and the fire-in-the-belly of these young actors is almost
palpable as they roam the streets, hand out programs and try to draw you into
their theatres. They need it − with performances starting at 10:30 in
the morning and running past midnight every day, it takes energy as well as
talent to keep up the pace. And to keep the hope alive that someday, somewhere,
they will be "discovered" and offered a chance to shine in Paris. It
happens.

LE QUATORZE JUILLET

(never referred to as
Bastille Day in France)

France celebrates its national holiday on the 14th of July,
and this year President Trump was the guest of honor at themilitary parade on the Champs Elysées. The somewhat artificial
reason for President Macron's invitation to Donald Trump was that this year marks
the centennial of the United States' entry into the first World War. The parade
was therefore led by American soldiers and some old WW-1 tanks. It was the
usual display of military might and patriotic pride: sophisticated war
machinery, well-choreographed troops, marching bands and flyovers, all
meticulously executed under very high security. It was also an occasion to show
Franco-American friendship and Melania Trump's dresses (she did beat Mrs.
Macron in elegance).

The visit was not without risk in this country where Donald Trump
has few admirers. Some accused Macron of grandstanding and catering to the
enemy. Others see him as a savvy strategist who invited an embattled Trump in
an attempt to obtain American support for French military operations in Africa
and to try and reverse the US decision to withdraw from the Paris climate
accord. Trump's tantalizing parting message that "something could happen
with respect to the climate change agreement; we'll see what happens" lit a spark of hope. If this vague promise could become reality, Macron's charm
offensive would have paid off handsomely. But we will not hold our breath.

NICE

After the parade in Paris with Donald Trump at his side,
President Macron flew to Nice which on this day remembered the victims of last
year's terrorist attack by a radical islamist who drove his 19-ton truck into
a crowd of people as they were leaving the July 14 fireworks, crushing 86 of
them to death and wounding 443 others. In a somber and moving commemoration
ceremony where the names and ages of the victims were read aloud, Macron added
a name to the board of tiles that formed a heart-shaped list of the dead, placed temporarily near the site of the tragedy on the famous Promenade des
Anglais seaside boulevard.

Macron adds name to list of victims

In an earlier speech before a packed crowd on the Place
Massena, Macron vowed to continue the fight without mercy against terrorism and
radicalism, and assured the attacks' survivors, many of whom are still
undergoing treatment, of the State's continued support and aid. "We owe
this to you," he said to the victims' families, as former presidents
Hollande and Sarkozy, Prince Albert of Monaco, and a number of government
ministers looked on.

Nice honors its victims

At nightfall, following a last tribute on the Promenade, 86 blue
light beams suddenly pierced the sky as 86 large white balloons ("our
angels") were released in a final salute to each of the victims.

It was a
moving and beautiful sight, bringing on thoughts of the randomness of
death. Or of life.

Remember yesterday and live life today, because there may be no tomorrow.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Newly elected French president Emmanuel Macron had barely
had time to appoint the members of his government late last month before he
left for a marathon of international meetings with his G7 counterparts in Taormina,
Sicily, and with his NATO partners at their summit in Brussels. A baptism by
fire, you might say, but one that he passed with flying colors and with
positive reports in the press.

In fact, rather much of that press coverage went to Donald
Trump who attended these same meetings and drew a great deal of attention to
himself by his oafish behavior and signs of unpreparedness. When shortly after
his return to Washington he announced that he would withdraw from the COP21 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, foreign leaders and the international press were unanimous in their
condemnation of this decision and dropped all pretense of political correctness
and diplomacy in doing so. In Germany, an exasperated Angela Merkel called Mr.
Trump an "unreliable partner in international treaties;" French president
Macron went on live television to say "On climate there is no Plan B
because there is no Planet B" and launched the slogan "Make Our
Planet Great Again," while former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius,
who presided over the December 2015 Agreement's signing, called Donald Trump's
decision "a major fault against humanity and against our planet."
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who had just returned from a six-month space
mission, agreed and said that he had personally observed the earth's fragility
to global warming, calling Trump's withdrawal from the Agreement
"irresponsible." Germany's Der
Spiegel published a shocking magazine cover and an article headlined:
"Donald Trump's Triumph of Stupidity." Clearly, outside his clique of
diehard supporters at home, President Trump's decision met with universal
disapproval, and the powerful US now finds itself on the sidelines in the
smelly company of fellow non-signers Syria and Nicaragua.

It's a sad day when the president of the United States is
mocked by the entire world and is no longer taken seriously by anyone, when
respectable magazines run covers such as "Liar-in-Chief" (Time) and when in
a few short months this president managed to severely damage his country's reputation all
over the world and undermine the respect it has always commanded. It goes without saying that Donald Trump's actions
concern all of us, that pollution does not stop at America's borders, that unhealthy air and foul water do not make America great again, and that international
agreements are not to be dismissed like a candidate on his reality TV show The Apprentice. "Unfit for the highest office" does not begin to describe Donald Trump.

If a point can be made for Europe taking on a bigger share
of the NATO defense budget, no reasonable argument can be made for quitting a
hard-fought climate agreement signed by 195 nations for the benefit of all.
Fortunately, European leaders have united as never before in their commitment
to adhere to the COP21 goals, joined by such major polluters as China and
India. But the damage is done, and with his stunning arrogance and ruthlessness
Trump has alienated all his European allies and isolated America to a desert
island of blind conceit and ineptitude where this alpha male can rule his pack of
chimps until they run out of coconuts or the rising oceans mercifully engulf
them.

MEANWHILE, IN THE ADULT WORLD…

A novice president of an altogether different sort is
Emmanuel Macron who in less than two months since his election in May has not
only won early kudos from world leaders but whose brand-new EM party managed to
win a vast majority of the parliamentary seats in the legislative elections on
June 11th and 18th. It's a remarkable achievement of a party that did not even
exist a year ago, in a country where endless debate is par for the course and
actual reform is considered impossible. Let's see if Macron's government, half of them women and one-third of the entire Cabinet coming from civil society rather than politics,
can do better. Hopes are high.

Macron's ministers

In the meantime, as tourists and vacationers are flocking
southward and invading our mist-cooled terrasses,
and as our first heat wave (36°C) inevitably dulls our interest in the world's
turmoil, we turn our attention to the pleasures of the Opera Festival in
Aix-en-Provence which opened last week with its first Master Class. Even for
those who don't care for opera, the pleasures of this opera season are many, as
I described in an article that appeared in the excellent PROVENCE POST on May 29, 2017 which you can read by clicking here.

Enjoy your summer and don't worry too much about the Yellow Peril in the US. This too will pass, and as Johann Strauss said in Die Fledermaus: "Glücklich ist wer vergisst was doch nicht zu ändern ist" (Happy is he who forgets what he cannot change anyway).

So climb into your hammock with a book and a cool drink, and relax.
I'll see you next month.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Yesterday, Emmanuel Macron was sworn in as president of
France, at 39 the youngest ever, elected without the backing of a political
party, and until recently better known for his unusual marriage than for his
presidential potential. Seeing the official passation
de pouvoir on television − a damaged and unpopular President Hollande
handing over his powers to the rebellious economy minister who had left him
less than a year ago to form his own political movement − the improbable story of the
young outsider finally became real.

Outgoing and incoming presidents

Of course, Macron was helped by the fact that President
Hollande did not run for re-election, that primary winner and front-runner for
the presidency François Fillon self-destructed during his campaign, and that
the Socialist party was largely destroyed by infighting and numerous
defections. Nevertheless, when last November Macron declared himself a
candidate for the presidency, few people thought he could win, let alone in
less than six months. But his ambition, his intelligence, his youth and energy,
his independence from any political party, and the timing of his candidacy − when
France was weary of prolonged high unemployment, angry at corrupt politicians,
and full of doubt − opened the door to something new. And in stepped Macron,
together with a wife who fascinates the press far beyond France.

BRIGITTE

As the entire world knows by now, Brigitte Macron is 24
years older than her husband. They are both from the northern city of Amiens,
where Brigitte Trogneux was a teacher of French and drama at her daughter's
high school when she first met the student Macron; she 39 and married, he 15.
When at age 17 he declared his love for her, his parents sent him off to Paris
for further study. Several years later, Brigitte divorced her husband and moved
to Paris where she continued teaching until 2015. She and Macron married in
2007, a happy ending to an unusual love story, and one that made Macron an
instant stepfather of Brigitte's son and two daughters (today engineer,
cardiologist and lawyer, respectively) and now step grandfather to seven
grandchildren.

Their determination in the face of opposition by parents and
rejection by the settled bourgeoisie in Amiens, as well as the patience and
persistence with which they slowly won back respect and support, are character
traits that will come them in good stead in dealing with the inevitable
hardships and pitfalls of politics. And with the cruel emphasis placed on her
age. Some hurtful and mean-spirited remarks regarding the couple's difference
in age have already appeared, directed mostly at Brigitte, whose heels are
judged too high, her skirts too short, and her appearance altogether too high-fashion.
But this woman who broke the rules long ago amid much criticism in order to
live her dream with Emmanuel Macron, has had time to develop a thick skin. It
also helps that she has a sense of humor. Here's what she said when Macron had
won the election: "It's a good thing he won now, because in 2022 my face
would have made it impossible."

As someone who watched the all-day inauguration ceremonies
on television yesterday, with its share of solemnity, ritual, splendor and
poignancy, I sensed a positive mood overtake the city, a return of hope and
self confidence, a belief in the promise of this young president who wants to
revolutionize the political system and make it more efficient and responsive to
today's needs. His task is immense and his path marked with goals he is
expected to reach very soon, first among them to obtain a majority of seats in
parliament for his new government (to be voted on the 11th and 18th of June)
without which it will be near-impossible for him to enact his program of change.

After a much-applauded inaugural speech, humble and grand
all at once, he was given a great send-off. Now it's up to him.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

It's over, and the winner of the first round of the French
presidential election is centrist Emmanuel Macron of the movement En Marche! who will face far-right
candidate Marine Le Pen of the Front
National (FN) in the runoff on May 7. With 24.01 percent and 21.30 percent
of the vote, respectively, they eliminated from the race conservative and early frontrunner François
Fillon and hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon who obtained close to 20
percent each. Predictions are that Macron will win the second round and become
the next president of France, but if the abstention rate is high (May 7 is in the
middle of a long weekend) and if Mélenchon's disappointed followers vote for Le
Pen because she, like Mélenchon, wants to leave the Euro and the European
Union, nothing is sure.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon

I watched these elections at a friend's house where about a
dozen of us had gathered for the election results and for dinner. One couple
among us had voted for socialist candidate Benoît Hamon out of political
conviction even though he had no chance of winning. This type of sympathy vote
is not uncommon in the first round since you can change your vote in the second
round. But we all remembered the disastrous outcome of the 2002 election when
confident socialists frittered away so many votes in the first round that
far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen (father of Marine) overtook and
eliminated socialist candidate and expected winner Lionel Jospin. A joyous
evening instantly turned somber, to which our hostess had only one answer: she
opened several bottles of Chateau d'Yquem that she had just inherited from her
father.

No Chateau d'Yquem this time, but cautious optimism that
39-year-old Emmanuel Macron will win the presidency on May 7. Given the
scandal-clouded campaign of center-right candidate Fillon, and the sudden rise
of firebrand left-of-the-left Eurosceptic candidate Mélenchon in the latest
polls, the Macron-Le Pen duel was one of the better outcomes we could hope for.
But this was no ordinary election in that, stunningly, the two main ruling parties, Fillon's
LR and incumbent President Hollande's PS, were both knocked out in the first
round.

Five years of President Hollande's failed government have
left the socialist party in tatters (its presidential candidate Benoît Hamon
got no more than 6.36 percent of the vote), and the refusal of a damaged
François Fillon to withdraw from the race in favor of fellow Republican Alain
Juppé has been blamed for the conservative LR party's loss. Voters'
disenchantment with the two main parties was surely one of the reasons for maverick Mélenchon's
strong showing.

Marine Le Pen

Most political leaders, including President Hollande, have
since called on their constituents to vote for Macron (against Le Pen), if for
no other reason than that France should stay in the European Union. But Le Pen
smells victory and is redoubling her efforts, especially in distressed areas
where factories have closed and unemployment is high. Her audience, essentially
less educated workers, traditional, older and risk averse, fears Macron's youth
and is suspicious of his banking background. They are pessimistic by nature and
seek security and protection with Le Pen. She is a high-energy person and a
good speaker whose nationalist message resonates with her audience.

She may be getting some help from Russia (she met Putin in
Moscow last month) according to reports that Russian hackers have targeted
Emmanuel Macron's computer network. Global cybersecurity firm Trend Micro
identified the group as the same ones who penetrated the Democratic National
Convention's network last year and says they may be linked to the GRU, an elite
Russian military intelligence unit. Putin does not want a strong European Union, and
neither does Le Pen. French authorities have been alerted, and Trend Micro will
issue a detailed report this week.

Macron and wife Brigitte

Emmanuel Macron tends to attract a better-educated, somewhat
younger population that is willing to break with tradition and is open to
change. He founded his own EM movement ("neither left nor right") to
have the freedom to promote his personal vision for a stronger, modernized
France, where it will be easier to innovate or start a business, and where he
wants to streamline a bloated bureaucracy. He is a strong defender of the
European Union and of international trade. To counter the argument that at age
39 Macron "lacks experience" his followers point to his four years in
government service, the last two (2014-2016) as Minister of the Economy, and to
the extraordinary feat of winning the first round of the presidential election
after less than six months of campaigning. Before the final round, however, he
still needs to convince the doubters and fence sitters to step to his side
rather than to Le Pen's.

This campaign is not over, but I cannot help dreaming
already of a dynamic Justin Trudeau or John F. Kennedy at the helm in France.

REFUGEE CAMP BURNED

Le Grande-Synthe camp on fire

Two weeks ago, the refugee camp at Grande-Synthe near
Dunkirk was destroyed by a fire, said to have been set by the migrants
themselves in a clash among the camp's occupants. Ten people were hospitalized,
several of them with stab wounds, and some 600 were sheltered in nearby
gymnasiums. Hundreds of others, however, are unaccounted for and are thought to
be roughing it in the surroundings.

According to local authorities, a fight had broken out
between Kurdish and Afghan migrants over accommodations in the camp, with
Afghans complaining that they were housed in the collective kitchens while the
Kurds slept in wooden sheds. This camp of wooden sheds had been built by
Doctors without Borders to house 800 people, but at the time of the fire it
held 1500. The original occupants were mostly Kurdish, but when French
authorities dismantled the infamous Calais Jungle camp in October 2016, it
re-settled hundreds of Afghans in the Grande-Synthe camp which lacked
sufficient wooden sheds for all.

Le Grande-Synthe before

Most of the people at Grande-Synthe want to go to England,
including minors who have family there, and are awaiting visas for the UK or
asylum papers for France. Others are still trying to get to England illegally
and refuse to leave the area for camps further south. Many of those who have
disappeared after the fire are thought to be hiding out between Dunkirk and
Calais for further attempts to cross over to the UK.

As a rule, it is government policy to settle families with
small children first and to house unattached men in temporary camps while their
visa or asylum applications are being handled. In the meantime, these men are
not allowed to work, butwith the help of volunteers and charitable associations they
are given language classes and usually a place of worship. Nevertheless, the
longer they are held in these camps, the more discouraged they become and the
easier it is for a minor incident to spark violence. It is to be remembered
that these people ran for their lives and that they paid a terrible price just
to find safety before returning home when war ends or being allowed to work and
build a new life without handouts. It is a matter of survival and life with
some dignity for the migrants, and a moral and humanitarian issue for the host
countries where, more often than not, especially in northern Europe, the
welcome has been lukewarm at best.

TERRORIST ATTACK IN PARIS

Sadly, the refugee crisis has been displaced by French
elections, shifting tensions in international relations, and continuing
terrorist attacks around the world, including in Paris where a policeman was
killed last week on the Champs Elysées, and two other police officers and one
tourist were wounded. The assailant was shot dead by police. The attack was
soon claimed by the Islamic State, although the gunman, identified as
39-year-old French national Karim Cheurfi, who had a long criminal record and
spent 15 years in jail for attempted murder of a police officer, was not
known to be radicalized. At his death he carried a note in his pocket that
defended ISIS, and the addresses of four police stations in Paris as well as a
Koran were found in his car. French authorities are treating this as an Islamic
terrorist attack and are continuing their search for potential accomplices. No rest for the weary French security forces who have been working under a State of Emergency for too long. And no national security as long as home-grown Islamist extremists pursue their misguided mission against "infidels." Let's hope that the next president will find a workable solution to this problem and, of course, let's hope it will be Manuel Macron!

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Last Saturday, 27 European heads of state met in Rome to celebrate
the signing, 60 years ago, of the Treaty of Rome that established the European Economic
Community (EEC) with six member States. This created a common market for the
free flow of goods, services, capital and people throughout its member
countries, and was the first chapter in the development of the European Union
(EU) which today counts 27 member States (post Brexit). It has not always been
a smooth road and has required a number of amendments and sub-treaties on the
way to becoming the complex juggernaut it is at present. Often criticized for
moving slowly, the EU colossus nevertheless is making steady headway in the turbulent
waters of a multi-layered Europe, and its founders' goals remain as valid today
as they ever were.

EU heads of State in Rome, March 2017

Just as the NATO pact was intended as a shield against
foreign aggression, the EEC created a bulwark of countries forming a single
market for greater economic strength. These international agreements have been
essential to the peace and prosperity Europe has known for more than 60 years,
but are threatened today by the Brexit vote and by President Trump's announced
intention to cut America's financial contribution to NATO and his encouragement
of other countries to leave the European Union so as to diminish its economic
power.

Jean-Claude Juncker in Rome

In the same room where the original treaty was signed in
1957, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker responded to these threats by
recalling the original signers' pledge to work for the "ever-closer union
among the peoples of Europe" and spoke for all the signatories when he
said: "We solemnly renew our vows and reaffirm our commitment to our
undivided and indivisible union. Only by staying united can we pass on to
future generations a more prosperous, a more social and a safer Europe." This
was true in 1957 and it is true today.

May the message be shared widely across a Europe weakened by
Brexit, and serve as a warning against rising populism.

THE NETHERLANDS

Geert Wilders (L) vs. Prime Minister Mark Rutte

One loud voice that has been thundering against the EU is
that of Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, a right-wing populist who is
in favor of leaving the EU. This admirer of Donald Trump wants to close Holland's
borders to Muslims, shut down mosques, and ban the Koran. I was in Holland
during the general elections on March 15 and was struck by the fact that there
were practically no billboards or posters of political candidates and that the
mood was calm and sober. I heard no rabid speeches in the days before nor great
jubilation after the election; just a sigh of relief at the defeat of Wilders who,
riding on a wave of populism, had been running neck and neck with Prime
Minister Rutte almost until election day. Sober, solid and down-to-earth
Holland saved the day, and hopefully set an example for France...

FRANCE

... where presidential elections will take place in late
April and early May, and where far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Wilders's soul
mate, is expected to win the first round. If elected, she would immediately
leave the European Union and the euro, close French borders to immigrants,
revoke French citizenship from Muslims with dual nationality, and pretty much
follow Wilders's script. His defeat in Holland was greeted with joy in France
and seen as a welcome check in the rise of the extreme right.

Penelope and François Fillon

French polls have been predicting that Le Pen will lose in
the second round but nobody counts her out yet, as her opposition is fractioned
and in turmoil. Several of her fellow candidates are under investigation, first
among them conservative front-runner François Fillon, former Prime Minister,
who looked like a shoe-in until the revelation of alleged fictitious employment
of his wife and two children as well as expensive gifts from wealthy donors
tarnished his image of Mr. Clean and completely overshadowed his political
platform. When the preliminary judgment by a financial fraud panel failed to
clear him of the charges and concluded only that further investigation was
necessary, Fillon refused to withdraw but his chances of winning have been
badly hurt.

Emmanuel Macron, former Economics Minister and the current front-runner,
is being investigated over a costly visit to the 2016 electronics trade show in Las
Vegas with members of his Ministry that was organized without a call for bids.
An aide explained that Business France, a unit of the Economics Ministry, had
chosen the Havas PR company to organize the trip without seeking other bids and
that this investigation has nothing to do with Macron himself.

Marine Le Pen with Vladimir Putin

Marine Le Pen also faces several investigations over
campaign financing and misuse of funds at the European Parliament. She has
refused to reply to a Summons from judges in the parliamentary case while she
is campaigning. She has the support (and possibly financial backing) from
Vladimir Putin who received her at the Kremlin last week.

As soon as President Hollande announced that he would not
run for a second term, Manuel Valls resigned as Prime Minister in order to run
for the presidency himself (he lost against left-wing candidate Benoît Hamon). Interior
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve then replaced Valls as Prime Minister, and Deputy Bruno
Le Roux was appointed to replace Cazeneuve as Interior Minister. It was another
reshuffle in the Hollande government which has known many, and should have been
the last before the change of government in May. Alas, Le Roux lasted little
more than three months and was forced to resign over the fact that he had
employed his two school-age daughters of 15 and 16, respectively, as Parliamentarian
aides during school vacations. Not much evidence could be found for work done
for the benefit of the Parliament except for paychecks totalling 55,000 euros.
In the wake of the Fillon fictitious employment scandal, Le Roux was forced out
and was replaced by Matthias Fekl, who in September 2014 had replaced Thomas Thévenoud,
then newly-named State Secretary for Exterior Commerce who, after only nine
days on the job, had to resign over years of unpaid taxes. (His excuse: "I
don't like paperwork").
Are you still with me?

President Hollande in his office

One may well ask whether President Hollande has ever heard
of background checks, but that's a moot point by now. Without a lasting legacy,
he will soon be forgotten. A recent article in daily La Libération with the headline François
Hollande, Résident de la République, depicted a man isolated in his gilded
cage, surrounded by all the glitter and ostentation of France's past glory, who
is keenly aware of his exalted position and seemingly in need of all the
trappings that come with it as if he still does not quite believe that he made
it to the top. Even when he invites journalists for a chat over a cup of
coffee, he receives them in these formal surroundings where a uniformed lackey
cries out Le Président de la République!
as he enters the room to join his guests.

With a tinge of pity we will soon say goodbye to this
well-meaning but ineffective president, who may well miss his shiny palace more than
we will miss him.

About Me

About us, rather: Anne-Marie has worked as a translator, teacher, journalist, sportswriter (covering Formula 1 races), and director of corporate communications. She followed her husband Oscar into early retirement in 1998.
Oscar made his career in international development banking and since moving to Provence has become an expert on Provençal cooking.